Hovee & Co. is a fast-growing advisory and accounting firm that serves as an outsourced CFO for businesses from startups to $10M+ enterprises. A CPA and former Deloitte professional, Meghan Hovee launched her firm in 2015 and has since built a team of experts integrating tax, accounting and strategic advisory services into one cohesive partnership.
What’s in your tech stack?
So much!
Slack—internal communication
Zoom—virtual meetings
Acuity—scheduling
Drake—tax preparation
Blue J—AI tax research
Canopy—practice management
BizEquity—business valuation
QuickBooks Online—client accounting
*This list does not include the many other client-specific software programs we utilize in our line of work.
Two big software wins this year: A) consolidating our practice management and client portal software into one solution B) adopting an industry-specific AI tool—that works as-presented! AI is not perfect, but it’s been very useful to us in gaining operational efficiency.
What’s your joy and what’s your headache?
Joy: Having an abundant marketplace for cutting-edge software tools and solutions. The amount of tech solutions these days is almost overwhelming!
Headache: We’re always sold on shiny features, but it’s incredibly difficult to think of and then inquire about every possible impediment to your organization’s processes before making a software selection. So coming up with process “workarounds” while waiting for feature updates is a consistent challenge.
If you could wave a magic wand, what would you make software companies do for you?
Put your engineers on the sales calls! And I can make that ridiculous request because I’m married to one, ha.
What’s your best piece of tech advice for others in your job?
Be vigilant in watching new products hit the market. Maybe be a fast follower to let the kinks get worked out, but tech is not a space where we can be slow to adopt changes and solutions. That will leave us in the dust.
Secondly, negotiate! Pricing practices in tech have changed dramatically over the last two years—now we’re constantly faced with terms and arbitrary pricing figures that we have to be savvy about as we wade into a potential new deal. Take the time to review new products, and take the time to negotiate your pricing. You’ll be glad on both fronts.
